Ozapft is!
This weekend, I finally tried out my Mr Beer homebrew. I patiently waited 4 weeks for this stuff, and I was rewarded with a rather tasty brew. I let it sit in the barrel a week longer than prescribed, because it had not yet begun to clear up a the end of the first week. After another week, it was so clear that I could see the yeast gunk at the bottom of the little barrel. I bottled the beer in 1-liter pop-top bottles for aging and carbonation. After another two weeks, I popped one open, and behold: the beer poured a lovely clear yellow with lively carbonation and a reasonably firm head. It’s a light-bodied beer with a bit of citrus and a good bit of yeast (stronger from the bottom of the barrel). Nothing fancy, but not bad for a first go at it.
Now, clearly its a “kit beer” and not made from scratch. Basically, the wort comes in a can, and you just warm it up, add sugar and yeast and bubble, bubble … you have beer. Yet, for a first shot at homebrewing, this is not a bad idea. It’s real easy, and it gives the novice a sense of the process, and a sense of accomplishment when it works. After a couple of kit batches, I think I’ll try my hand at making beer from scratch.
Prosit!